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It remains to be seen how the media will cover the explosive revelation from ABC's Jake Tapper that Barack Obama asked Russian president Dmitri Medvedev to get Vladimir Putin to give him some "space" on missile defense so that he could be more "flexible" with the Russians in a second term. So far, the tepid coverage from National Journal and the Washington Post suggests that the media doesn't consider a request to another nation to pipe down so an American President can win a second term and deliver more favorable policy to a potential antagonist more than a "gaffe". They...

The titans of American industry were all assembled at the White House complex Wednesday. There was Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google. There was Kenneth Chenault, the chairman of American Express. And there was Barack Obama, the sometimes owner of General Motors, Chrysler, Citibank, Bank of America, AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The president's advance team handled it like a state visit. The Secret Service shut down Lafayette Square as the CEOs huddled inside Blair House -- where foreign dignitaries often stay. The U.S. Park Police were mounted, the presidential limousines were idling, and men with scary-looking weapons stood...

Anyone critical of President Obama being in India right now is an "idiot," MSNBC's Joe Scarborough bluntly served on his morning show, which prides itself on being a safe haven for different views. India is "exactly where [President Obama] should be" right now, he opined. With Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass on as a guest Monday morning, Scarborough clamored that President Obama "needs" to be in India right now for the sake of U.S. foreign policy. "I would send my President to India, like once a month, if I could, for long weekends," he emphasized. Scarborough hit left-wing...

Illegal Alien supporters bussed in from California. desecrate US and AZ flag in front of Arizona State Capitol during the singing of the National Anthem at a pro SB 1070 Rally

Under a little-noticed provision of the recently passed financial-reform legislation, the Securities and Exchange Commission no longer has to comply with virtually all requests for information releases from the public, including those filed under the Freedom of Information Act. The law, signed last week by President Obama, exempts the SEC from disclosing records or information derived from "surveillance, risk assessments, or other regulatory and oversight activities." Given that the SEC is a regulatory body, the provision covers almost every action by the agency, lawyers say. Congress and federal agencies can request information, but the public cannot. That argument comes despite...

U.S. formally embraces Copenhagen climate deal Photo 4:24pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday formally notified the United Nations that it has embraced the Copenhagen Accord setting nonbinding goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that was negotiated last month. Todd Stern, the top U.S. climate negotiator for the Obama administration, also gave notice that, as expected, it will aim for a 17 percent reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for global warming by 2020, with 2005 as the base year.

The head of a civil liberties organization is concerned about an executive order signed by President Obama last month which allows an international law enforcement agency to have jurisdiction in the United States without being subject to the U.S. Constitution. In June 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed Executive Order 12425, recognizing the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) as an international organization with certain privileges and immunities afforded to diplomats. But Reagan structured his executive order to ensure that Interpol -- like every other law enforcement agency in the United States -- was accountable to the rule of law. John Whitehead,...

Obama to seal US-UN relationshipBy Harvey Morris at the United Nations Published: September 8 2009 19:59 | Last updated: September 8 2009 19:59 Barack Obama will cement the new co-operative relationship between the US and the United Nations this month when he becomes the first American president to chair its 15-member Security Council.The topic for the summit-level session of the council on September 24 is nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament – one of several global challenges that the US now wants to see addressed at a multinational level. EDITOR’S CHOICE Norwegian criticises UN chief’s performance - Aug-20 UN criticised over...

ROME – World leaders attending the Group of Eight summit opening Wednesday in Italy will each be presented with a gift from the past and one for the future. Handmade books portraying works by Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova, as well as gold coins representing an imaginary future world currency will be given to the participants at the opening of the three-day summit...

Want ads from AIG, government contractor, and minority-owned owned companies specifically targeting current H-1B work visa holders or foreign citizens eligible for the H-1B program dispel the myth that US companies recruit locally before going abroad for their top-dollar, white collar job openings. These want ads are but the tip of the iceberg that will emerge when the Dept of Labor grants permits to U.S. companies to hire foreign workers filling upwards of 85,000 job openings in Fiscal Year 2010 under the H-1B visa program. These corporations have given other citizens the first crack at these job openings; Congress should...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's Treasury secretary says the administration has inherited "the worst fiscal situation in American history." Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told the House Ways and Means Committee Tuesday that Obama entered office facing a $1.3 trillion deficit — about 10 percent of the nation's economic output. Republicans have complained that Obama's budget proposal would balloon the deficit even higher, to $1.75 trillion.

President-elect Barack Obama is welcomed by President George W. Bush for a meeting at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, with former presidents, from left, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter

Governor Jon Corzine continues to be dogged by questions about his still secret plans to monetize State assets, namely the New Jersey Turnpike and he continues to refuse to release any details. A recent poll shows Garden State voters oppose the idea and even some of Corzine's fellow Democrats are critical of the undisclosed scheme. "I don't have plans until I have a plan," says Corzine. He adds, "It makes no sense to talk about something that we don't know the underlying factors on……people in my own party (Democratic) and the other party, they all want to talk about something...

BELLEFONTE -- One of up to 10 Interstate 80 toll booths would be put up in Centre County near the Clinton County line and another would be located 40 miles to the west in Clearfield County, according to unofficial plans seen by state Sen. Jake Corman, R-Benner Township. Corman, majority policy chairman of the Senate Republicans, made the disclosure during a news conference Monday where he assailed Gov. Ed Rendell as "irresponsible" for holding the state budget "hostage until he gets everything he wants done." The senator said the I-80 map he saw is an early draft and could change...

The nation's transportation experts have identified their top three priorities: a national freight network, urban congestion and connecting new urban centers with the interstate system. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, meeting in national conference last month, heard futurists predict that the cost of meeting the transportation needs would be $3.1 trillion over the next 25 years. State and local governments are turning to "public-private partnerships," or PPPs, to produce the funding. The city of Chicago was happy to partner with a Spanish-Australian group that paid $1.83 billion for a 99-year lease to operate the Chicago Skyway....

WASHINGTON -- Nothing tells you more about Hollywood than what it chooses to honor. Nominated for best foreign film is ``Paradise Now,'' a sympathetic portrayal of two suicide bombers. Nominated for best picture is ``Munich,'' a sympathetic portrayal of yesterday's fashion in barbarism: homicide terrorism. But until you see "Syriana,'' nominated for best screenplay (and George Clooney, for best supporting actor) you have no idea how self-flagellation and self-loathing pass for complexity and moral seriousness in Hollywood. "Syriana's'' script has, of course, the classic liberal tropes such as this stage direction: "The Deputy National Security Advisor, MARILYN RICHARDS, 40's, sculpted...

Under a secretive agreement with the Bush administration, a company in the United Arab Emirates promised to cooperate with U.S. investigations as a condition of its takeover of operations at six major American ports, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. The U.S. government chose not to impose other, routine restrictions. In approving the $6.8 billion purchase, the administration chose not to require state-owned Dubai Ports World to keep copies of its business records on U.S. soil, where they would be subject to orders by American courts. It also did not require the company to designate an American citizen...

 Little noticed in the kerfuffle over the takeover of major US ports by Dubai Ports is the key role being played by former Democratic Party leaders. Lobbying firms associated with ex-Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Madeleine Albright (Clinton’s Secretary of State) have been working (paid subscription only link) to secure approval of the purchase by Dubai. One would think that our leaders, even when out of office, would care more about their nation than their bank accounts.This hopefully will give impetus to a bill (drafted by Republican Congressman Mike Rogers of Michigan) working its slow way through Congress that would bar...

Al Gore has become somewhat of an American idol this past few years. After his departure from Washington in 2000 the ex-presidential candidate has switch-backed across the county giving thundering sermons to over-flowing auditoriums and town halls. He’s railed against the Republican agenda in Iraq, denouncing President Bush and the neocons at every turn. Gore is fast becoming the antiwar celebrity du jour, capturing the imaginations of many who fear the vicious Bush cartel. “Normally, we Americans lay the facts on the table, talk through the choices before us and make a decision. But that didn't really happen with this...